Martin’s tip-in basket lifts men’s basketball team past Spring Arbor, 85-83

OLIVET, Mich. – Senior Chris Martin made a tip-in basket with 2.3 seconds left to lift the Olivet College men's basketball team past Spring Arbor University, 85-83, this evening inside the Cutler Event Center.

Final Score: Olivet 85, Spring Arbor 83
Location: Cutler Event Center; Olivet, Michigan
Records: Spring Arbor 9-7 overall, Olivet 1-13 overall

• In the first half, the Comets built an 11-point cushion, 19-8, at the 14:21 mark. The Cougars answered with a 17-5 run to take their first lead since early in the game. From there, the teams exchanged points to create two tied scores. After the last one at 29-29 with four minutes showing on the first-half clock, Olivet scored seven straight points before Spring Arbor ended the half on an 8-2 to make the score 38-37 at the break.
• The entire second half was back and forth, as there were eight tied scores and 11 lead changes. The biggest lead for either team was four points, 59-55, for the Cougars. Down three with 1:17 left, junior Derrick Johnson made a three-pointer to level the score.
• After causing a turnover, the Comets went ahead by three points, 83-80, on a three-pointer by senior Delbert Redfield. Spring Arbor responded with its own three-pointer to level the score. After a missed three-pointer, Martin gathered the offensive rebound and made the go-ahead basket with 2.3 seconds remaining. The Cougars inbounded the ball and called a timeout with 1.8 seconds showing on the clock. After Olivet used a full timeout, Spring Arbor turned the ball over on the inbounds play.
• For the game, the Comets shot 45.8 percent (33-of-72), including 38.7 percent (12-of-31) from behind the arc. The Cougars had a 50.8 field percentage (30-of-59) but were 34.5 percent (9-of-26) from three-point territory.

• Five Olivet players reached double figures in the scoring column
• Senior Eddie Thigpen led the way with 21 points.
• Martin scored 18 points to go along with grabbing a team-best seven rebounds.
• Johnson added 16 points.
• Redfield tallied 13 points.
• Sophomore Drew Moore contributed 10 points.

• Brandon Durnell posted a double-double, 26 points and 13 rebounds, to top the Cougars. He also had seven assists.
• Daniel Cluster finished with 21 points.
• Denver Cade had 13 points.

• "It's great anytime you can wing a game. It's not easy to win, and obviously we needed a win," said Olivet head coach Sam Hargraves. "We had some chances in some of our earlier games and we could not get it done. This win was really special because we beat a team which I have a ton of respect for, and they played well.
• "I thought Spring Arbor kept punching us all second half. And for the first time all year, we kept punching back. We finally played a relatively complete game, not just for parts of the game.
• "I am very happy for our guys. We are in year two of building a new program. They could have easily gotten down and decided that it is just not our year. But we keep fighting. Hopefully that will continue and we will see what happens the rest of the season."

• Olivet returns to Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association play Saturday when Albion College visits the Cutler Event Center. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. The game is a part of the basketball doubleheader, as the Comet women also play the Britons, and that game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.